وَٱلنَّـٰشِطَـٰتِ نَشْطًا 2
Translations
And [by] those who remove with ease
Transliteration
Wa-al-nashitati nashtan
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah refers to the angels who are assigned to extract the souls of the deceased, described as those who 'pull out' or 'drag forth' the souls swiftly and energetically. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Tabari, the angels carrying out this duty move with vigor and purpose in fulfilling Allah's command, emphasizing the reality and certainty of the moment of death and the divine order surrounding it. The oath by these angels at the beginning of Surah An-Nazi'at sets the stage for the surah's discussion of the Day of Judgment and resurrection.
Revelation Context
Surah An-Nazi'at is a Meccan surah revealed during a period when the Quraysh were denying the resurrection and the afterlife. This ayah, along with the preceding oaths in the surah (79:1-5), invokes the angels and celestial phenomena as witnesses to the certainty of resurrection, addressing the skepticism of the Meccan disbelievers about life after death.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (peace be upon him) described the angels of death in Sahih Muslim (2873), stating that when the soul is extracted, the angels carry it upward. Additionally, in Sunan An-Nasai, there are descriptions of the angels who come at the time of death, reinforcing the reality of this event as mentioned in the oath of this ayah.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds us of the reality of death and the divine forces at work in the universe beyond our perception, encouraging believers to prepare spiritually for that inevitable moment and to trust in Allah's perfect wisdom and justice in all matters, both seen and unseen.